Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1270 Reorganizing the Army and Heading North
In the blink of an eye, the two sides went from face-to-face warhorses accelerating to engaging in combat in just a few minutes, and collided in the blink of an eye.

Logically speaking, the Mongols rarely used such head-on tactics in warfare. They were more adept at guerrilla tactics, which involved using the mobility and archery skills of their cavalry to gradually weaken the enemy on the battlefield, using a kite-like approach to bleed them dry before delivering the final blow when the time was right.

But this time was different. Schinbal's men were clearly there to deal with Agudamu. They had secretly followed Sucha to this place and then launched a surprise attack, relying on their superior military strength, intending to crush Agudamu's cavalry in one fell swoop.

In this situation, speed is of the essence, and even the potential losses from this tactic are disregarded. From the enemy's perspective, capturing Agudamu would secure the victory. If Agudamu were killed or captured, nearly half of Southern Mongolia would be leaderless, and the situation for both Khorchin and Chahar would be completely different.

After all, these two places had not been occupied by Agudamu for long, and behind the surface submission, there were still people with other ideas in secret. They might not have made any moves while Agudamu was alive, but once Agudamu died, these people would definitely not sit idly by and watch the opportunity disappear; they would inevitably rise up and fight for the territory.

Isn't this the rise and fall of the Mongol tribes over the past few centuries? Therefore, Agudamu himself is the key. Under these circumstances, how could the enemy possibly hold back? So they went all out from the start, intending to crush Agudamu's forces in one fell swoop and win the war.

On the other hand, Agudamu was caught completely off guard by the sudden attack. His men were currently rushing to change their uniforms, as they would only be combat-ready once fully equipped. Furthermore, the two sides were mismatched in strength; Sichinbal had mobilized almost twice the number of troops as Agudamu. Under these circumstances, they had to hold off the first wave of the attack at all costs; only by repelling the first wave could they buy Agudamu time for the subsequent attacks.

Erdemu understood this perfectly, and he thought the same thing at that moment. Facing an enemy dozens of times stronger than himself, he led his men in a counterattack without hesitation. Although he and his men were extremely brave and better equipped than the enemy, they were simply too few in number. How could such a small force possibly stand against the Mongol cavalry that came charging at them dozens of times stronger? No matter how brave Erdemu was, he could not possibly defeat them.

And so it was. In just one charge, Erdemu's side lost nearly half of its men. Those who survived were all wounded. Even Erdemu himself was slashed in close combat. If it weren't for his sturdy armor and excellent horsemanship, he would have fallen off his horse and been trampled into a bloody pulp.

"Kill! Kill!" Erdemu led his men in a charge, attempting to halt the enemy's advance. However, against such a powerful opponent, his individual bravery had limited effect. After a brief but fierce fight, enemy cavalry suddenly appeared from the left. Erdemu barely managed to block a seemingly inevitable blow with his sword, but before he could change his stance and cut the enemy down, another enemy attacked from his right. Erdemu had no time to react and was struck heavily, falling from his horse. After landing, Erdemu was unable to control himself and could only desperately turn his head to look behind him, seemingly searching for Agudamu's figure. But before he could see clearly, everything went black, and he knew nothing more.

The time frame was very short, and Erdemu and his men were quickly overrun by the enemy. It can be said that almost none of Erdemu's own cavalry survived.

Although their actions were futile, they were not without effect. It was because of Erdemu that the enemy's momentum was slightly halted. After Erdemu's men were killed, the enemy regrouped and accelerated their charge towards Agudamu. However, by this time, Agudamu's men had already changed their gear. Agudamu, who watched helplessly as Erdemu fell from his horse and his fate was unknown, was now furious. Without hesitation, he gave the order to counterattack and led his cavalry to meet the enemy.

A major battle broke out under these circumstances. Facing a larger enemy with the advantage of surprise attack, Agudamu completed the preparations for a counterattack in the time that Erdemu had bought with his life. The two sides fought fiercely for a time.

In terms of military strength, Sichinbal has more men, but in terms of equipment and bravery, Agudamu's side has the advantage.

Especially after Erdemu and others bought themselves precious time with their lives, Agudamu's side was also ready. The battle was fierce and intense, with both sides fighting with all their might to achieve their goals. In the end, Agudamu's side gradually gained the upper hand, relying on their superior equipment, sharper weapons, and the use of some firearms to gradually suppress the enemy with more men.

As time passed, the enemy realized the situation was hopeless. Continuing the fight would not only fail to kill Agudamu, but they themselves were also on the verge of collapse. Left with no other option, the enemy began a tactical retreat, gradually disengaging from the battlefield. Agudamu followed suit, gaining a slight advantage, but he knew that given his numerical disadvantage and the surprise attack, he had already achieved a considerable victory. Continuing the fight would leave the outcome uncertain, especially since they were in the southern part of the northern steppe. If the enemy had other plans, another cavalry force might arrive, potentially trapping them in a desperate situation.

In this situation, both sides withdrew from the battlefield, and the war ended as the sun gradually set. The attacking enemy retreated north, and Agudamu's side also retreated south. After withdrawing some distance, they reorganized their troops and tallied their losses. Agudamu's face was particularly grim. He had suffered considerable losses in this battle, with his troops losing as much as 30%. Most importantly, Erdemu and his elite cavalry were almost entirely killed. This fueled Agudamu's anger, and he clenched his fists tightly.

"Your Highness, what do we do now?" a subordinate asked Agudamu. He was also injured, but fortunately only slightly. The battle just now was too dangerous. Luckily, the enemy retreated, otherwise, who knows what the outcome would have been.

"We can't stay here any longer!" Agudamu said solemnly. "Have the wounded brothers bandaged up as soon as possible. We'll leave tonight and go back first. We can settle this score with Sichinbal later!"

"Yes!" the subordinate replied, and then went to relay the order.

After a brief rest, Agudamu decisively led his troops south back. He was very clear-headed; with his current forces, he was no match for Schinbal, let alone capable of revenge. Moreover, he was worried that the old man Schinbal might have a backup plan. His side had already suffered considerable losses, and if they were to fight again, they wouldn't be able to hold out. It was better to return and reorganize his troops before leading the main force north to settle the score with Schinbal!

"Schinbal! Heh, you just wait and see, I will be back!" As he left, Agudamu glanced back, his gaze seemingly seeing something through the night. He gritted his teeth and said this in his heart, then turned his head, spurred his horse, and led his men south.

A few days later, Agudamu and his remaining troops finally returned to the Khorchin territory. When Agudamu's men saw their prince in such a disheveled state, they were all shocked. When they heard that they had suffered heavy losses in the southern part of the Gobi Desert due to a sneak attack by Sichinbal, and that not only Erdemu had been killed in battle, but Agudamu had also almost been killed by Sichinbal, they were all furious and clamored to immediately lead their troops north to teach Sichinbal a lesson.

Agudamu was not surprised by his subordinates' reaction; on the contrary, he was quite pleased. However, Agudamu did not immediately retaliate. After all, the situation in the northern desert was complex, and Siqinbal was not the leader of a small tribe. If other tribes were involved, it would not be so easy to deal with. Moreover, heading north to the northern desert would be a major battle, and Agudamu would not easily send troops without thorough preparation. Besides, they had traveled a long and arduous journey back, and many of his men were wounded. They needed to at least have their injuries treated and rest for a few days.

Therefore, Agudamu, in the name of Prince Shun Ning, issued an order to summon troops in the Khorchin region. He planned to draw troops from various Chahar tribes and also recruit troops from the Khorchin to form a large army before marching north to seek revenge. In addition, Agudamu also wanted to inform the Ming Dynasty and his elder brother Tengger in Guihua City about this matter, hoping to gain their support.

If the Ming Dynasty could send an army north to assist him, and the Tumed could send troops north to the Gobi Desert to suppress the tribes in the western and central parts of the Gobi, then his subsequent military operations would be much more secure. Agudamu was very clear about this. He was not a reckless person. Since Sichinbal dared to do this, it was impossible for him to do so without some kind of backing. Besides the instigation and enticement of those from the pseudo-Qing, there were probably other circumstances unknown to him. Revenge was not something to be rushed. Agudamu had enough patience and time.

The news quickly reached Guihua City. Tengger was greatly surprised when he received the letter from Agudamu; he never expected such a thing to happen. After thinking for a moment, Tengger immediately sent someone to invite Wang Hai to discuss the matter, and Wang Hai arrived shortly afterward.

"Your Majesty!"

"Brother-in-law, you've arrived. Please have a seat." Tengger treated Wang Hai with great respect. Although Wang Hai came from a humble background, he had followed Zhu Shenzhui for many years and made numerous contributions. He was not only Tengger's teacher but also his brother-in-law. When Tengger became the tribal leader, he was still young. Zhu Shenzhui spent most of his time in the Ming Dynasty. The Mongols owed much to Wang Hai's assistance; otherwise, the powerful Tumed Mongols would not have existed later.

(End of this chapter)